The present invention relates to a device and a method for contactless detection of an angle of rotation or a torsional rotation. In particular, the present invention relates to a device and a method for contactless detection of very small angles or very small torsional rotations.
Measuring devices for contactless detection of angles of rotation, such as torque sensors, are known in the most various embodiments. Such measuring devices are sometimes based on different principles. For instance, optical sensors are known that detect the angle of rotation via a code placed on the rotating part. Magnetic sensors are also known, in which a magnetically generated field changes as a function of the angle of rotation, and this change can be used as a measure for the angle of rotation. In these sensors based on the principle of magnetism, it is disadvantageous that they are based on a complicated layer technology and their structure is relatively complicated, making them very expensive to produce. The optical sensors, conversely, are quiet vulnerable to soiling and can therefore be used only conditionally in the motor vehicle, for instance, and have a relatively short service life, since they are often used under extreme conditions.